My problem solving method is as follows: 1) Generate as many ideas as I can as to how I can solve a problem. 2) Do hours of research online on the problem that I am trying to solve. 3) Consult experts in the field of the problem that I am trying to solve and ask them what they would do. 4) Come up with a detailed step-by-step action plan for solving the problem. 4) Implement the plan.
That's interesting. I always contrasted myself with my INTP father because he is more methodical and precise, where I'm pretty straight-to-business and tend to experiment within reason. I think my ISTP brother falls in the middle. He's definitely methodical and precise too, but he also tends to be fairly practical whereas dad is heavy on the idealistic constraints. I'm all about just getting something to work and then letting the TPs figure out how to make it work
best.
I think my steps would be something like:
1. Attempt to solve the problem intuitively on my own by tinkering, figure out main snare/s
2. Research subject starting with snare and expanding to holistic understanding
3. Apply understanding to tinkering
4. Repeat until solved.
* If no luck after reasonable attempts, or under time pressure, find someone better-versed in matter
polikujm said:
As long as you put more of your time into thinking about these questions, the logical likelihoods and frameworks than you do simply coming to conclusions and using them for something, and you're pretty sure you're a thinking type, then ENTP is likely.
I agree with this.
(Who says ENFPs do things the way you described? For all I know they ponder questions without even doing real research and looking at the facts.)
My guess is we tend to draw a lot from our impressions of the world to start with and do a lot of research that's not necessarily geared towards T-style logic or S-style facts but more about complex relationships, trends, patterns, influences, developments, shifts, concepts, and so on. I find that generally if my N understanding of a subject is good, I can approach it from a T angle and derive a close-enough answer, even if my cognitive process behind getting that answer would aggravate a real T. From what I've experienced of ENFPs, most of us like to get the answer that works well and allows us to move on with what we're interested in, but we do tend to carry a certain amount of pride in our knowledge and capability that increases our desire for logical accuracy even if logical processing isn't our first interest or priority most of the time.
Personally I always used to be one of those "I want to do it myself!" kids all the time, but with age I've mellowed and in recent years I've really been appreciating letting the more logical people in my life handle the logical problems while I specialize in dealing with emotional people-situations, which is where I natively excel. Not that I don't still feel like proving my worth in the logical realm sometimes - it's just almost always for some kind of people-related or aesthetic purpose. I rarely delve into logic for the sake of it. I imagine that's fairly consistent across ENFPdom.